Multifocal Intracranial Ganglioglioma in a Sexagenarian: Case Report and Review of the Current Literature.

BACKGROUND

Gangliogliomas are rare, well-differentiated, low-grade neoplasms that most often occur unifocally in children and most commonly affect the temporal lobe. Gangliogliomas that occur in patients age >40 years tend to have worse prognoses. These tumors generally stain positively for neural and glial cell markers, as well as CD34. Here we report an unprecedented case of multifocal intracranial ganglioglioma in an adult age >40 who had a favorable course, and review the current literature on multifocal intracranial gangliogliomas.

CASE DESCRIPTION

A 60-year-old female presented to her ophthalmologist with blurry vision in the right eye and an unremarkable neurologic exam. She was referred for brain imaging, which showed multiple lesions in both cerebral hemispheres. Biopsy of the right occipital lesion was elected, as it enhanced the most on magnetic resonance imaging.

CONCLUSIONS

Multifocal intracranial gangliogliomas are exceedingly rare tumors, especially in adults. These tumors present unique management barriers because as they are multifocal at the time of diagnosis, making resection more technically challenging. In our review, the average age at diagnosis was 19.2 years, and 80% of the cases had at least 1 lesion in the temporal lobe. Two studies opted for resection of intracranial tumors, whereas the remaining studies performed biopsy with conservative management and serial imaging. Biopsy was performed in all cases. We present the first case of an intracranial multifocal ganglioglioma in a patient age >40 years with lesions in the occipital lobe, corpus callosum, and frontal lobe at presentation.